Quoted from Propaganda:I know this shot on LOTR (which I own and played for years) that goes around an orbit and gets hung up on something that keeps it from flowing around to the other side cleanly. I suppose it depends on how hard I hit the shot. If I nail it hard, maybe it helps slow the ball down. If I hit it with average power, it flows around. If I hit it softly, it does not complete the orbit. The machine is at 6.5 degrees. Maybe this is by design to make that shot more challenging. Maybe it's hitting a gate and it's a clunky flaw. I don't know. I'd like to put a camera back there while playing and film it to see what actually occurs.
I had the exact same experience when I had my LOTR. Left orbit shot clunked its way around, that and the spinner rejects out of the ring shot start to wear on you. Still a great game!